Gordon Brown, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, became
leader of the ruling Labor Party on Sunday afternoon at a special
Labor conference in central Britain.
He is also to succeed Tony Blair as prime minister on Wednesday.
This is finally Brown's turn, after letting Blair to be at the
forefront of the party 13 years ago in the wake of the sudden death
of the then Labor leader John Smith.
As one of the two major architects of the Labor Party, Brown's
contribution to the country's economy is there for all to see. His
nomination and coronation has been no surprise, however, as no
other candidates for the post of Labor leader has been qualified in
line with the party standards. And Brown, therefore, becomes the
first Labor Party leader unchallenged since 1930s.
Widely deemed as a private person, Brown started to reveal his
policy ideas only lately when his leadership campaign unfolded.
However limited is the information, one thing could be certain,
that is, he is going to change the way of governing the
country.
Changing way of governing
Brown believes that only if it undergoes fundamental reform,
could the Labor Party win the next general election. And
transparency as well as giving the Parliament a fuller role to play
is the best way to bid farewell to the Blair years.
To regain public trust in the government and draw lessons from
past mistakes, he pledged to shift the governing style from the
top-down "sofa politics" typical of the Blair era, when a small
circle of political advisers made the decisions, to relaxing
government control and listening to the people.
Major decisions on matters of war and peace, as well as
emergency military actions should be made by the Parliament,
instead of the prime minister. He also proposed a ministerial code
of conduct to prevent scandals such as "money for peerage" from
ever happening again.
With voters' support for Labor declining, Brown tries to win
over people from across the party boundaries. He promised to draw
talents with experiences and expertise from all parties to make his
party more modern.
To the 56-year-old chancellor, climate change, global economic
competition and terrorism are all major challenges facing Britain
in the years ahead. To meet the challenges, he wanted his
government to be more environmentally friendly. His proposal of
building five eco-towns and 100,000 more apartments aims to fix
both issues of environmental concern and housing.
Engaging businesses in education and public services is also
part of his plan of investing in the future and make Britain
beneficiary of globalization. Fighting terrorism is a major
priority when Brown takes office. He has already unveiled harsher
measures which include increasing security expenses, prolonging the
28-day detention limit for terrorist suspect without charge, and
using information from bugging phone calls and intercepting e-mails
as evidence in court.
Pragmatic foreign policy
In foreign policy, Brown is believed to be more pragmatic. As
Guardian columnist Timothy Ash analyzed, there are three
lessons Brown must learn from Blair.
First, never again must the flag of liberal interventionism be
so abused. All the many peaceful forms of liberal intervention must
first be exhausted before military action be taken as last
resort.
Secondly, only a strong Europe, speaking with one voice, can be
the strategic partner that the United States badly needs.
Thirdly, in order to get a strong Europe, the British prime
minister must face down the unelected press barons who currently
dictate Britain's European policy.
Although no one expect big changes in a close Anglo-American
relationship, Brown would be more sensitive to the concerns of the
British public, retaining Britain's ties with the United States
while keeping its distance. British troops' withdrawal from Iraq
would be a major decision. A constructive relation with the
European Union is no less important.
On Iraq, the most 'divisive issue' for Labor and the country,
Brown had admitted the government had made mistakes over its
handling of the situation in Iraq. But he had ruled out the
possibility of an immediate troop withdrawal, saying Britain has to
honor its obligations to the country.
He urged British voters to look ahead and make efforts in
political reconciliation and economic rebuilding in Iraq to earn
people's trust, saying economy, employment and security are the
keys to peace in the country.
On Iran's nuclear strength, Brown advocated peaceful solutions
such as diplomatic moves and economic sanctions as the best way
forward. He also promised a economic route map for peace in the
Middle East, to tackle poverty in the Palestinian territories.
United for challenges
For many people, Brown lacks the charisma as permeated from
Blair. However, the strength, honesty and firmness he has been
demonstrating over the last decade as Chancellor of the Exchequer
has been well noted by the public. A cautious economic strategist,
Brown is also winning back voters' support since he started his
leadership campaign some six weeks ago.
A latest opinion poll showed that 39 percent of voters now
support Labor, the highest rate since last October. As media
commentators put it, the honeymoon between the British public and
the Conservatives led by young David Cameron has ended.
When Brown takes his office on Wednesday, he is faced with the
largest cabinet reshuffle since 1997. With heavyweight Blairites
exited already, Brown is blessed to implement his ideas to the
full.
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2007)
